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NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue: The State of The NFL - Page Five
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At 11:30 AM EST, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue gave his annual "State of The NFL" speech from the NFL press conference ballroom at Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Fla. This is page five of the complete speech and press conference.
(con't).America, helped by Title IX. When women
participate in track and field or soccer or field
hockey or rugby or flag football or tackle football,
as they do, they become more interested in the
NFL. There's the main reason. If there is growing
interest, it's because of greater participation in
competitive sports of all kinds.
On the security issues in Jacksonville and
Detroit, I think they're basically the same as we
had in San Diego, Houston and New Orleans since
9-11. Just a very intensive preparation,
anticipating every possible threat or risk, and trying
to make certain that we have the best of our own
resources, private security, federal resources, state
and local resources. And we have those
challenges every week in every one of our
stadiums, not just for the Super Bowl.
Q. You said the Super Bowl is already a
success. Are you in favor of bringing a second
game back here?
COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE: One of
the things I've learned over the year is the dumbest
thing you can do is say from this podium you're in
favor of City X, because the other eight owners
here say why didn't you mention my city, too. I
think Jacksonville will prove, it is proving, that it's
got all the things that you need to host the Super
Bowl game successfully, including great hospitality
and interest in the game.
I think Wayne Weaver said that maybe in
the next decade would be a realistic timeline; that's
for the community to decide. But my feeling is it
will be back here at some point. What was the
second part of your question?
Q. The future of the Jaguars franchise?
COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE: I think
that the Jaguars franchise is fine in terms of fan
support. I think that the team was struggling a bit.
That affects fan interest. They've taken some
steps in players like Byron Leftwich and the team
that Coach Del Rio put together.
I think everyone recognizes the stadium
was somewhat oversized in terms of capacity
because of the goal of having it big enough so that
you could play a Super Bowl here, having it big
enough so that you could play the Florida-Georgia
game here, having it big enough so you could play
college bowl games here. So what Wayne is
doing in terms of reducing the capacity at the
margin is intelligent and will bring it much closer to
what our average capacity is for new stadiums.
And small markets have their challenges,
certainly, but they're not unique to Jacksonville.
Lamar Hunt, sitting right across the aisle from you,
they've done tremendous things in Kansas City.
Buffalo has done tremendous things in serving
their Canada base. We'll have to keep in place
some of our wise policies in terms of revenue
sharing and cost sharing. So if they need support
from the league they'll get it.
Q. How much of a priority is it for the
league to have a team in Los Angeles, and can
you kind of give us an overview of the current
situation there in terms of potential sites and
potential ownership situations?
COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE: On the
potential sites, I think all of you know in L.A. we've
been working very hard with the four sites, Carson,
the Rose Bowl and Pasadena, the Coliseum, and
in Anaheim, and we expect by as early as our May
meeting this year to have one or more term sheets
finalized with those cities for the building of a
stadium and for the use of a stadium.
And then assuming we do that, then we'll
move on to the question of what team do we send
there, is it an expansion team, is it a relocated
team. But I think we're making real progress. I've
been saying that for quite a while, and it's
becoming a reality in terms of how close we are to
signing off on some term sheets on one or more
projects. It is a top priority and has been for quite
some time.
Q. Could you comment on Emmitt
Smith's retirement announcement and the
impact he had on the game?
COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE: Emmitt
had called me about a month ago to talk about
some things, and basically he said he was
surprised that I was staying longer than he was
because I'm older than he is. But Emmitt, I think
his grace and his greatness and his passion for the
game came through yesterday in his press
conference, as it did when he played the game.
I'm sure Connie Payton would recognize
that Emmitt is right up there with her husband in
being one of the great running backs. But more
than that some of the images that I have of Emmitt
Smith are those great smiles, the enthusiasm for
winning, evident disappointment when he lost, the
tremendous game in Giants Stadium when he
played most of the game with his shoulder
separated or torn ligaments, something like that,
incredible performance.
And I also remember well when he walked
off the stage with his college degree in his hand
and how proud he was of that. Like I said, what
Emmitt was yesterday is what Emmitt will remain
in the game for a long time -- greatness, grace and
a lot of passion. He's talked to me about coming
back in an ownership capacity maybe as his next
goal down the line. I'm not saying tomorrow or
next year, but he wants to stay connected with
football, and I'm sure he will.
Q. Could you explain how the league
finds alcoholic beverage advertising with
dancing girls, and why the league has chosen
to crack down on parties in Las Vegas?
COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE: Las
Vegas has sports gambling and I think the
Congress has made it clear that -- and we've made
it clear that -- we don't want our game to be
associated with sports gambling. Beer advertising
is legal, consumption of beer is legal. America
tried Prohibition in the last century. It didn't work
too well. Responsible advertising is critical.
Responsible policies in terms of the service of beer
are critical. And we think that we and others who
are involved in these issues have struck the correct
balance on those subjects.
Q. Every year I get a chance to ask you
a question, and some years ago I asked you
about when Eddie (DeBartolo) was the team
owner we went around and canvassed the
neighborhood, and it was a referendum that
they were going to build a mall and there were
going to be jobs. Now that Denise (York) has
taken over the team and John York has had
another attitude toward the way the team is
supposed to be run. I'm trying to find out if the
NFL is responsible, or is there some
responsibility from the National Football
League for the people who live in that area and
the people who voted to have this mall built
there that was -- and some changes made in
Candlestick Park which is now Monster Park.
My statement is what does the NFL have to do
with it, and you told me the last time that I
talked to you when asked this question was
that you had talked to Willie Brown, who is the
Mayor. Now we have Gavin Newsome, that's
the Mayor, except for one thing I was going to
say, I called Willie before I talked to you the last
time, and Willie said he hadn't talked to you or
you hadn't discussed this thing.
COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE: Then I
don't know what I was doing in the room with him
for two or three hours when we were together.
Look, Mayor Brown provided tremendous
leadership in San Francisco on many, many
subjects, and that included getting the Pac Bell
Park built with tremendous leadership of the
baseball ownership of the San Francisco Giants.
And Mayor Brown provided tremendous
leadership when the referendum was in front of the
voters when Eddie DeBartolo owned the 49ers
when he tried to get the stadium built in
conjunction with what you call the mall.
When it came to costing it out and paying
for it, it became clear that trying to build the
stadium at that site, making it earthquake proof
and everything else you have to do along the edge
of the bay in San Francisco, it just wasn't going to
work. John York is continuing to try to explore
alternatives, and we're working with him, and I'm
expecting to be seeing Mayor Newsome in the
future, and we're going to continue to work on it.
Q. What is your impression of the
stadium process in Indianapolis, where they're
at? And given small-market Jacksonville, cold
weather Detroit, what's the possibility of
Indianapolis getting a Super Bowl, once the
construction begins?...more..
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